The conclusion of a series on the ethical challenges facing European Americans
by John Young
http://www.westernvoices.com/audio/john_young/jy20070416.mp3
Welcome to Western Voices, I’m John Young.
Today we’ll complete the three-part series on the ethics of European Americans United. I’d like to start with a quick recap to refresh what we’ve already covered. While I’m doing that, you should go to www.europeanamericansunited.org and print out a copy of our Statement of Ethics to keep handy because you’ll want it later.
In the first program, we covered why ethical standards are necessary, and explored how the unethical behavior of European Americans, without regard to external forces, has led to the circumstances in which we now find ourselves. We also learned that common ethical standards become self reinforcing and uplift both the individual and the groups to which that individual belongs.
In the second program, we determined the core principles defining the value system that our ethical requirements need to meet. These principles include community orientation, respect for the individual and the necessity for an ethical system custom-tailored in some particulars to the target group. We also covered how a “hierarchy of values” can be used to resolve ethical conflicts, with survival of the community occupying the highest spot in that hierarchy.So – how did we get from the ideas and principles discussed in the past two programs to our Statement of Ethics as it now stands? Turning back to the fundamentals discussed in the last program, we sought ethical standards that were compatible with the facts of reality and the needs of our people, that would permit us to not merely survive, but to thrive. We then looked at the lessons of the history of our folk. We looked at the ethical standards that prevailed at the points of our history when we had overcome tough times and tremendous odds.
This brought us to examine the codes of chivalry for a number of knightly orders, the values that prevailed among Americans during the expansion of Manifest Destiny, the attitudes of our people as we strove through the Great Depression, the ideals that led to Charles Martel’s defense of the West, the ethical standards that existed in pre-Christian Europe and many other sources. We then examined all of these to see what they had in common. Interestingly, when we narrowed down our list of requirements to only those ideas held in common across the board, nothing remained that was specific to either sex and nothing remained that was specific to any particular religion or denomination. Yet, the whole retained a wholesome European character. These are values that have stood the test of time and served our people well for thousands of years, so their benefits are historically proven.
We then augmented that list, again with a firm grasp on reality, to include requirements that were never thought of in our ancestors’ day. For example, environmental concerns. One hundred or one thousand years ago, our people didn’t have the capacity to disrupt the ecosystem from which we draw life significantly, but today we do. With the teeming masses of underfed humanity combined with behemoth corporations and the capacity to build biological and nuclear weapons, we actually have the capacity to make the world so toxic our posterity won’t be able to survive. Clearly, our capabilities must be wielded with wisdom and with an eye toward future generations.
People who have a sense of biological identity and a bit of understanding about the heritability of various personality traits are sometimes overly deterministic in their worldview. Just like with any oversimplification, it’s easy to get caught in that trap. The problem is that a strictly biological view of our people neglects the very thing that makes us human: the power of choice and self-overcoming. The ability to choose to be more, and better, than we already are; each and every one of us. No place is this more evident than in the area of ethics. Your choices in that regard define who and what you are. Being part of a community that supports beneficial choices will work synergistically to help you be the best you possibly can be.
Why am I telling you this? Because I know that our statement of ethics can be intimidating. It’s a tall order. I showed it to one friend, and he said “I could never live up to that, it’s too tough.” It is tough. But he was already living up to it without even knowing, and so can you. While hard limitations exist for humans, most humans never even approach those limits. Instead, they accept without question self-imposed limitations. You can work within the EAU ethical framework; the only real question is whether or not you will choose to do so.
Our Statement of Ethics contains expectations of behavior and attitude that are probably the most stringent ever required of any group of our people in modern times. But it must be like that for the role we plan to fulfill. What I am telling you here is that no matter who you are, no matter how much money you have (or don’t have), no matter what your state of piety: fulfillment of our ethical standards is within your grasp. The first step is to have faith in yourself and understand that if millions of our ancestors had not adherred to these standards, it is doubtful any of us would be here today. If our ancestors could do it, we can too. If we can’t – then we won’t survive. The ethics of our organization are so intertwined with our goals that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to state that if all we did was promulgate our ethics and did nothing else, positive progress would still be made for our people.
There is another thing I’d like to talk about that is hopefully self-evident. When you are a member of EAU, you must live by our ethics every hour of the day every day of your life, whether engaged in official EAU activities or not. Your ethical choices define who you are; and that is what you bring with you in everything you do. So you can never take a break in this regard. Initially, it may require vigilance and self-examination but pretty soon it will become as natural as breathing. Even when you are not engaged in EAU business, your behavior reflects upon your family, your people and EAU; so you must live intentionally, rather than automatically until the two become one.
With this background, I’m going to read from our Statement of Ethics again, just as during the first program in this series. Except this time you fully understand the underlying principles from whence it is derived, its historical relevance connecting past and future, and its importance to our members, our organization and our folk. You will see that with the background from these programs, it takes on a more profound meaning:
“As an organization dedicated to the preservation and exaltation of classical European values, we ask that our members and leaders maintain or develop a personal moral code germane to and reconcilable with that ancient value system. Generally, we respect our members’ liberty to conduct themselves as they wish, so long as their behavior does not potentially harm or bring disgrace upon themselves, our organization, or our people as a whole.
The plight of our people demands members who can devote themselves to honorable lives and deeds; we neither have the time nor the interest to work with those who cannot live by the principles for which we fight daily. Therefore, we expect our members to have pride in themselves, their family, and their race, and to always conduct themselves accordingly; we expect our members to value truth and righteousness and to be genuine and fair in all their dealings; we expect our members to value beauty, discipline, and progress and to strive to create and/or maintain distinctively impressive standards in art, education, and their professions; we expect our members to work for social justice and to respect and afford opportunity to their peers based not on their class or creed, but instead on their moral character and personal achievement; we expect our members to set a positive, productive example for their family and community in all of their manners and behaviors, including the maintenance of their physical appearance and their choice of acquaintances and personal habits; we expect our members to advance their education or employment in such a way that will enrich themselves and, by extension, benefit the organization and our people; we expect our members to respect and preserve the natural environment and to strive for its protection and restoration; ultimately, we expect our members to consider the welfare of their people and the impact thereunto of all their deeds, speech, and advocacies.”
Edmund Burke, the famous English philosopher said: “All that’s necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing.” I would add that it is not merely enough to do something. Rather, what you do must be a reflection of those qualities that define you as being other than the forces of evil. When you allow principles and ideas of righteousness that have been historically proven to guide your response to evil, your odds of success improve enormously.
Perfection eludes us in the temporal realm. We aren’t perfect, and we don’t expect perfection. What we do expect is a constant personal push for improvement in every aspect of your life: intellectually, morally, professionally and in every other way. In other words, a constant process of self-overcoming in which, overall, the “you” of a year from now is better than the “you” of today.
We must do this. Only 100 years ago, our people formed nearly 30% of the world’s population. Now, we are at 10% and falling. In only 13 years, Spanish will be the majority language of the United States; and in another 200 years, our people will have ceased to exist. What happened?
Certainly, you can blame this or that subset of individuals, but as a whole the only people to blame are people of European ancestry. If we are “victims” in any sense of the word it is only because we have actually chosen that position. We have chosen through inaction.
A look around our culture shows how, all around us, our kinsmen are making the poorest of choices every day. While some, such as the heads of many corporations, are actively evil; most are just the “good people” referenced by Edmund Burke who “do nothing.” They are slouching toward oblivion.
EAU is most assuredly not about doing nothing. We are about doing something – about working within a clear set of ideas to move our people back from the precipice of extinction and to help them live positive and uplifted lives. It is not merely enough to survive – we must thrive. When we go out into the community and actively engage people who never knew a viable alternative to the status quo existed, they will move from being part of the problem, to part of the solution.
And for that, we must first uplift ourselves. That is what our Statement of Ethics is all about.
Thank you for listening to our three-part series on Our Ethics. It’s an important topic and, being a branch of philosophy, potentially a bit dry; but I hope I’ve stirred up enough interest that you will explore the ideas on your own.
This has been John Young with Western Voices. Thank you for joining me again today.
Music for today’s program was provided via the Creative Commons. Introductory music is “Stand your Ground” by Sound Radius and the concluding music is Pachelbel’s Canon in D performed by Charles Kimble. Our use of these artists’ music doesn’t imply either our endorsement of them or their endorsement of us.